This project is looking at the product ecosystem and new technologies for integrative product development.

The design brief for this 5-week project as a visiting instructor is focused around the notion of technologies that are just becoming commercially viable as drivers for new and better user experiences and interactions. Within these very loose parameters, the students were asked to define their own design brief and tighter defined needs and constraints. Some of the work created in this short amount of time is truly innovative, beautiful in it's simplicity and gives us as good glimpse of things to come. Please note that all work shown here is intellectual property of the respective student, and that any trade marks show are purely used for academic purposes and have no direct connection to the respective trade mark holders.

Randy Chiang – Garmin GemThe Garmin Gem marks an introduction for the brand into a new market. The device is designed to appeal to young urban adventurers. A new interface provides a cohesive experience with more natural navigation. The Gem gives customers more multimedia features and simplifies the geocaching process, allowing users to go adventuring on the fly. The rugged faceted aesthetic fits the style of urban youth today, while also being interesting to hold and use. The Garmin Gem is an opportunity for Garmin to bring its products to a new demographic and push its ideals of exploration and discovery.

Jackson Fowler – LuckaLucka (Loo-kah) an interactive window to the digital world. Lucka (Swedish for "window" or "portal") is a conceptual interface designed exclusively for IKEA stores. While IKEA has a very unique user experience, internet based shopping has become more popular and convenient for many things than visiting brick and mortar stores. By creating a virtual window (using a transparent AMOLED screen) digital information can be seamlessly placed over a physical shopping environment, creating a blend of the best of the two worlds.

Now not only can you sit and stretch out on that couch, you can view it with additional colors, browse the instruction manual, see how many are in stock downstairs, or add it to a virtual wish-list.

Patricia Bell – Thinking of You. Thinking of You is a project that seeks to reimagine electronic communication devices. It is designed to foster relationships that are hindered by distance. These tactilely inviting pods have illuminated inputs and outputs. They are touch activated. Touch yours and the other will register the interaction. When the other person touches their pod, it will inform them that you were thinking of them. It is that simple. No screens, no plugs, no technological complexity required. Thinking of You distills pair interactions into satisfying user experiences and helps bring people together.

Phil Clark – The Remix Climbing SystemThe remix climbing system has 2 components: the ground or physical unit and the computer component. The ground unit, which has a camera, processor, and tripod, tracks motion sensors on the climber and a camera tracks people as they climb and then “replays” the climb for them through the use of virtual glasses that communicate with the ground unit device. The glasses show climbers the route they took relative to space and time. The ground unit’s processor records the route data and more and this information can be uploaded to any personal computer. The computer component has 6 dimensions: the replay, a social component where the user can have a name, profile, contact info, etc., climbing recommendations, people recommendations, compare/contrasting and competitions, and a workout component. The 3 key reasons for the design were that it promotes more interactivity, improves the climbing experience, and creates a new user experience.